Gyratory motion translator



May 25 1965 J:. M. BERGEY 3,185,254

GKYRATORY MOTION TRANSLATOR Filed Dec. 3, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG] 4 ii INVENTOR.

"1 JOHN M. amen w y w W BY ATTORNEYS y 1965 J. M. BERGEY 3,185,254

GYRATORY MOTION TRANSLATOR Filed Dec. 3, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGB INVENTOR JOHN M. BERGEY ATTORNEYS United States Patent Pennsylvania Filed Dec. 3, 1962, Ser. No. 241,960 13 Claims. (Cl. 185-29) This invention relates to a device for transforming random motion into a unidirectional rotary output and more particularly to an electromechanical transducer for transforming random motion into electrical energy.

Although various arrangements have been proposed in the past for transforming random motion into useful energy, these arrangements have invariably involved rather complicated bulky equipment operating with very little eiiiciency. Such prior devices have been relatively fragile and incapable of withstanding prolonged rugged use. Efiiciency has been impaired by lost motion in the mechanical elements of the devices and by excessive aging of the equipment.

The present invention voids the above-mentioned difficulties by providing a small rugged transducer for transforming random motion into useful energy. A change in direction of motion results in immediate and positive engagement of the translator with no gyratory motion lost in gear engagement, clutch action or other pro-operational activity. When used as an electrical power generator, the translator output will not change with equipment life as is the case with batteries. A Wide range of device sensitivity is possible dependent on end usage and by changes'in size, ruggedness, gear train and bearings the unit can be converted from a motion sensor to a power generating mechanism.

It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a novel motion translator.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a small rugged gyratory motion translator.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a random motion electromechanical transducer.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a gyratory motion transducer operating with substantially increased efficiency.

These and further objects and advantages of the invention will be more apparent upon reference to the following specification, claims and appended drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of a translator constructed in acordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a left side elevation of a portion of the translator of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a right side elevation of a portion of the translator of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a partial cross-section taken along line 4-4 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-section taken along line 55 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is a vertical section through a portion of the translator illustrated in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 7 is a cross-section taken along line 7-7 of FIGURE 6; and

FIGURE 8 is a cross-section taken along line 88 of FIGURE 6.

Operation of the translator of the present invention begins when a platform or base to which it is attached either pitches, rolls, yaws, or experiences a change in velocity in any direction (except a direction in a plane perpendicular to any of these axes). The translator finds utility in situations where random motion is normally present as a by-product of a controlled motion such as the bumps or lurches experienced during an automobile ride or where the input is a natural motion, such as the waves of an ocean. The translators of the present invention are useful for the automatic winding of marine chronometers, automobile clocks and sailboat instruments requiring power. When used in conjunction with a generator, the translators may be employed as power generators for signal buoys. Additional utility is as electrical signal output for monitor schemes in oceanographic studies. The devices can be used to present an electrical signal to a recorder proportional to the amount of wave activity.

Referring to the drawings, the translator generally indicated at 10 in FIGURE 1 comprises a pair of parallel spaced plate 12 and 14 secured together by a plurality of upper end screws 16 and lower end screws 20 received in threaded spacer sleeves -18.

Iournalled in the lower plate 14 is the lower end of a central vertical shaft 22. Rigidly secured to and rotatable with the shaft 22 is a collar 24. The collar may be secured to the shaft by any suitable arrangement such as a set screw 26 illustrated in FIGURE 1. Carried by the collar 24 is a horizontal pin 28 indicated by dashed lines in FIGURE 5. This pin may be threadedly received in a suitable threaded cavity provided in the collar 24. Pin 28 is received through an opening in an eccentrically mounted gyroscopic weight 30 carried by the pin. A set screw indicated by dashed lines at 32 in FIGURE 5 is provided to secure the eccentric weight to the pin 28. With the eccentric weight rigidly coupled to the shaft 22, eccentric movement of the weight 30 causes the shaft to rotate either in the clockwise direction illustrated by the arrow 34 in FIGURE 5 or in the counter-clockwise direction illustrated by arrow 36. The lower end of shaft 22 is journalled in plate 14 by means of a suitable antifriction bearing (not shown) and mounted on the underside of the plate 14 is an end closure cap 38. Cap 38 is provided with a central aperture for mounting the en tire unit on a suitable support.

Resting on top of upper plate 12 is a flat plate 40 best seen in FIGURE 1 on top of which is a transversely extending bearing block 42. Plate 4% and bearing block 42 are secured to the upper parallel plate 12 by suitable screws such as those indicated at 44.

As best seen in FIGURE 6, the upper end of vertical shaft 22 is journalled in bearing block 42 by means of an anti-friction bearing 46. Rigidly secured to the upper end of rotary shaft 22 by means of a set screw 48 is a drive gear or pinion 50.

Secured to the opposite ends of plate 40 by means of Allen head screws 52 are a pair of vertical end plates 54 and 56. Journ-alled by means of anti-friction bearings 58 and 60 in the end plates 54 and 56 are the opposite ends of a horizontal output shaft 62.

Referring to FIGURE 6, output shaft 62 is driven through a pair of one way over-running clutches generally indicated at 64 and 66. Loosely mounted on the shaft 62 are drive plates 68 and 70 carrying integral annular gears 72 and 74 which mesh with the opposite sides of drive gear 50 mounted on the vertical shaft 22. Drive plates 68 and 70 are separated by a spacer bearing sleeve 76 also loosely mounted on the shaft 62.

The driven elements or plates of the over-running clutches 64 and 66 take the form of wheel 78 andStl rigidly mounted on and rotatable with the shaft 62. Wheel 80 is provided with external gear teeth 82 for a purpose described below. Secured to the driven wheel 78 of the left hand over-running clutch by welding or the like is a rigid block 84. Connected to the block 84 by a single large screw 86 is an eccentric weight 88. The eccentric over-center weight 88 is in this way rigidly connected to the rotary wheel 78 of the over-running clutch 64 and through this wheel rigidly connected to the output shaft 62.

Referring to FIGURES 7 and 8 which show the overrunning clutches 65 and 6 respectively, the drive plate 7% for clutch 66 is loosely mounted as previously mentioned on the output shaft 62. The drive plate 70 is provided with a pair of pockets receiving the loop portion of springs 9t? resiliently bearing against captive balls d2. The balls 92 are offset on opposite sides of a diametric plane passing through the center of output shaft 62 so that when the drive element 7% rotates in the clockwise direction as indicated by the arrow in FIGURE 7, ball 92 looks between the driving and driven element to rotate wheel 86 also in the clockwise direction. When drive element 7t, rotates in the opposite direction the ball 92 follows the drive element and the clutch slips. Springs 9-19 assure that the clutch will act positively to immediately engage upon clockwise rotation of the drive element and eliminates substantially all backlash in the clutch.

In FIGURE 8 like parts for the over-running clutch 64 bear like reference numerals. In FIGURE 8 rotation of the drive element 68 in the counter-clockwise direction, as shown by the arrow causes the ball 92 to lock between the rive and driven elements so as to rotate the wheel 78 in the same counter-clockwise direction. When the drive element 68 is rotated in the opposite or clockwise direction, the balls 92 follow the drive element 68 and the clutch slips so that no drive is imparted to the Wheel 755.

As best seen in FIGURES l, 3 and 4, three horizontal spacer sleeves are connected at one end by corresponding screws as to the right hand end plate 55. The other ends of the spacers 94 contact a vertical support plate 98 secured to two of the spacers M by the two screws Itiil shown in FIGURE 2. Mounted on vertical plate 98 by screws N2 is a small electric generator I494. The generator is provided with a pair of insulated output leads I66 and 1%.

Vertical support plate 925 and end plate 56 rotatably support the ends of the stub shaft 116. This stub shaft carries a pair of speed increasing gears, the smaller of which engages the eeth on wheel 8d, while the larger engages a smaller gear 112 carried by the input shaft of the generator 1%. The increase in speed between the output shaft 62 and the input shaft of the generator 104 in the embodiment shown is 15 to 1.

An important feature of the present invention includes the provision of the over center eccentric weight 88 rigidly coupled to the output shaft 62. This weight in the embodiment shown is sector shaped and the support plate th is cut away as indicated by the dashed lines I14 in FIGURES 1 and 2 to provide clearance for the weight. In operation, any motion or change in velocity of the device to which the translator Iii of the present invention is attached causes movement of the eccentric gyratory weight 39 and rotation of vertical shaft 22 in one or the other of the two possible directions. This motion is translated into unidirectional rotation of the output shaft 62 which can only rotate in the single counter-clockwise direction illustrated in FIGURE 4. If the rotation of vertical shaft 22 is in one direction this motion will be transmitted tooutput shaft 62 through one of the overrunning clutches 64 or 66 while the other clutch slips. Conversely, if the rotation of vertical shaft 22 is in the opposite direction the drive to the output shaft 62 will be through the opposite over-running clutch while the previously driving cluch now slips. The result is unidirectional rotation of output shaft 62 which, in the preferred embodiment illustrated, is coupled to generator 104- to produce an electrical output across leads 166 and 103.

The over center weight 88 is important in significantly increasing the overall efficiency of the unit. The over center weight 85% rotates with the shaft until its center of gravity is over the center of the output shaft 62 or at top dead center. The weight 88 then swings by gravity to drive the output shaft down through bottom dead center and beyond for a total of approximately 220 of rotation of the output shaft 62. The impulse applied by this over center weight substantially increases the momentary speed of rotation of the output shaft and hence the speed of rotation of the input to generator 164. In this way, the weight 88 serves to give repeated short bursts of high r.p.m. to the generator, so as to increase the generator efiiciency and hence the overall efficiency of the unit when converting mechanical motion into electrical energy.

It is apparent from the above that the present invention provides a novel motion translator for translating arbitrary or random motion such as pitch, roll, or yaw or wave motion into unidirectional rotational motion. A further feature of the present invention involves a novel arrangement for producing an electrical output from such motion at a higher efficiency. The device is of relatively small compact construction and by means of the spring biased over-running clutches no gyratory mo tion is lost in gear engagement, clutch action, or other pre-operational activity. When used as an electrical power generator, the output does not change with equipment life as is the case with batteries. The device may be used as a power generator for buoys or as an indicator for indicating the amount of yaw, pitch, roll or the like of a space or other vehicle. The unit is particularly suited for oceanographic studies for generating an electrical output signal proportional to the amount of wave activity.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A motion translator for transforming random motion into a unidirectional rotary output comprising a rotary shaft, an eccentric gyratory weight carried by said shaft, an outpunt shaft, means coupling said shafts for transforming the motion of said rotary shaft into unidirectional rotation of said output shaft, and a second eccentric weight carried by said output shaft.

2. A motion translator according to claim 1 wherein said coupling means comprises a pair of over-running clutches.

3. A motion translator comprising a rotary shaft, an eccentric weight carried by said shaft, an output shaft, means coupling said shafts for transforming the motion of said rotary shaft into unidirectional rotation of said output shaft, a second eccentric weight carried by said output shaft, and means coupling said output shaft to the input of an electrical generator.

4. A motion translator comprising a rotary shaft, an eccentric gyratory weight carried by said rotary shaft, an output shaft perpendicular to said rotary shaft, a pair of over-running clutches each having a driven element secured to said output shaft and a drive element loosely mounted on said output shaft, gear means coupling said rotary shaft to each of said drive elements for rotating said drive elements in opposite directions, means for coupling said output shaft to an electrical generator and an over-center eccentric weight rigidly mounted on said output shaft.

5. A motion translator according to claim 4 including gear means mounted on said output shaft for coupling said output shaft to the input of an electrical generator.

6. A motion translator comprising a rotary shaft, an

eccentric gyratory weight carried .by said rotary shaft, an output shaft perpendicular to said rotary shaft, a pair of over-running clutches each having a driven element secured to said output shaft and a drive element loosely mounted on said output shaft, gear means coupling said rotary shaft to each of said drive elements for rotating said drive elements in opposite directions, a sector shaped over-center Weight mounted on said output shaft, an electrical generator, and means coupling said output shaft to the input of said generator.

7. A motion translator comprising a pair of spaced parallel plates, a shaft mounted for rotation between said plates, a radially extending pin carried at one end by said rotary shaft, a gyratory Weight mounted on the other end of said pin and spaced from said rotary shaft, an output shaft, gear and clutch means coupling said rotary shaft to said output shaft for transforming rotary motion of said rotary shaft into unidirectional rotation of said output shaft, an over-center eccentric Weight carried by said output shaft, an electrical generator having a pair of output terminals, and means coupling said output shaft to the input of said generator.

8. A motion translator comprising a pair of spaced parallel plates, a shaft mounted for rotation between said plates, a radially extending pin carried at one end by said rotary shaft, a gyratory weight mounted on the other end of said pin and spaced from said rotary shaft, an output shaft mounted on one of said parallel plates and extend ing in a direction perpendicular to said rotary shaft, a pair of over-running clutches each having a driven element loosely mounted on said output shaft, said over-running clutches being alternatively operative to couple said shafts during rotation of said rotary shaft in opposite directions, gear means coupling said rotary shaft to the drive elements of said clutches, a sector shaped overcenter weight eccentrically mounted on said output shaft, an electrical generator mounted on said one parallel plate, and gear means coupling said output shaft to the input of said generator.

9. A motion translator comprising a pair of spaced parallel plates, a shaft mounted for rotation between said plates, a collar on said rotary shaft, a radially extending pin secured at one end to said collar, a gyratory weight mounted on the other end of said pin, an output shaft mounted on one of said parallel plates and extending in a direction perpendicular to said rotary shaft, a pair of over-running clutches each having a driven element secured to said output shaft and a drive element loosely mounted on said output shaft, gear teeth on said drive elements, a gear mounted on the end of said rotary shaft and engaging the teeth on said drive elements for rotating said drive elements in opposite directions, locking means for alternatively engaging one or the other of said clutches, an over-center eccentric Weight carried by said output shaft, an electrical generator mounted on said one parallel plate, gear teeth on one of said driven elements, and gear means coupling the teeth of said one driven element to the input of said generator.

10. A motion translator according to claim 9 wherein said gear means coupling said output shaft to said generator is a 15 to 1 gear train.

11. A motion translator according to claim 9 Wherein said driving elements are separated by a bearing sleeve loosely mounted on said output shaft.

12. A motion translator according to claim 9 wherein each said drive and driven element have radially spaced portions separated by a rotary Wedge, and spring means for laterally urging said Wedge into locking rotatiton between said drive and driven elements, said clutches being alternatively operative to drive said output shaft in a single direction.

13. A motion translator according to claim 12 wherein said Wedges are halls.

References Cited by the Examiner ,UNITED STATES PATENTS 19,798 3/58 Slevin 185-29 709,847 9/02 Creveling 74-812 825,791 7/06 Young 74-812 1,403,912 1/22 Parsons 185-29 1,818,844 8/31 Dodge et al 192-45 2,059,754 11/36 Shaler 74-61 2,100,310 11/37 Betts 290- 2,248,182 7/41 Mateer 74-61 2,699,239 1/55 Klo-noski 192-45 2,867,078 1/59 Scott 74-812 3,031,053 4/62 Sauzedde et al 192-45 FOREIGN PATENTS 409,761 2/25- Germany.

JULIUS E. WEST, Primary Examiner. 

1. A MOTION TRANSLATOR FOR TRANSFORMING RANDOM MOTION INTO A UNIDIRECTIONAL ROTARY OUTPUT COMPRISING A ROTARY SHAFT, AN ECCENTRIC GYRATORY WEIGHT CARRIED BY SAID SHAFT, AN OUTPUNT SHAFT, MEANS COUPLING SAID SHAFTS FOR TRANSFORMING THE MOTION OF SAID ROTARY SHAFT INTO UNI- 